Male luer fittings are utilized in a wide variety of medical liquid transfusion, infusion and injection applications. By way of example, ISO standards 594-1 and 594-2 (i.e. as published by the International Organization for Standardization) set forth specifications for conventional male luer fittings.
In one primary use, male luer fittings are provided on disposable syringes for selectively receiving a hub from which a needle projects. The hub is sized to slidably and sealably receive a complimentary nozzle of the male luer fitting. Typically, to enhance the reliability of interconnection, the male luer fitting includes an annular collar that is disposed about the nozzle and internally threaded for rotatably engaging outer threads provided on the hub of the needle.
In another primary use, male luer fittings are utilized in combination with complimentary female luer fittings to provide for the ready interconnection/disconnection of medical liquid tubing lines and/or outlet ports of medical liquid sources. In such applications, the female luer fitting is sized to slidably and sealably receive a complementary nozzle of the male luer fitting. By way of example, the use of connectable male luer and female luer fittings facilitates the fluid interconnection/disconnection of patients to medical liquid sources during extended therapy and otherwise allows for the replacement of medical liquid sources and/or associated tubing line sets in the course of extended therapy. Typically, to enhance the reliability of interconnections, the male luer fitting includes an annular collar that surrounds the nozzle and is internally threaded to rotatably engage outer threads disposed on the female luer fitting.
In connection with the noted uses of male luer fittings, it is generally desirable to provide a protective cap on a male luer fitting prior to and/or in-between the intended interconnection(s). Such protective caps are generally utilized to maintain a desired degree of sterility at the nozzle of the male luer fitting. Further, when male luer fittings are used in connection with syringes filled with a medical liquid (e.g. pre-filled with a liquid medication or flush solution), protective caps may also function to prevent leakage of the contained medical liquid. Similarly, protective caps serve to preclude the passage of liquid through connectors employed in connection with medical liquid tubing lines and/or outlet ports of medical liquid sources.
Collared male luer fittings of the type noted above are often referred to as “luer lock fittings”. When such luer lock fittings are utilized, protective caps employed therewith may be provided with interfacing annular members having external threads that are complimentary with the internally threaded collars of the male luer fittings. Such protective caps must necessarily be rotatably advanced/retracted relative to the male luer fittings in order to achieve interconnection/disconnection with the threaded collars. Further, in that regard, in automated systems for capping/uncapping collared male luer fittings (e.g. in conjunction with the automated assembly and/or filling of a disposable syringe), the utilization of protective caps having threaded annular members may increase equipment complexity since each protective cap and/or interfacing male luer fitting must be supportably disposed for both automated linear and rotational movement.